Disinfectants incorporating hydrogen peroxide are attractive because hydrogen peroxide displays broad spectrum antimicrobial activity and because it decomposes into innocuous products, i.e., water and oxygen. Broad spectrum antimicrobial activity is important in situations where harmful organisms are present, but their identity is not known. Drawbacks to the use of hydrogen peroxide include the inherent instability of hydrogen peroxide solutions and the length of time required for hydrogen peroxide to disinfect a surface to which it had been applied. For example, stabilizers must be added to hydrogen peroxide solutions if they are to be stored for any length of time. Also, it can take 30 minutes or more after application of such solutions to disinfect a treated surface. Recently, it has been disclosed that a combination of a phosphorous based acid and an anionic surfactant can stabilize and increase the activity of hydrogen peroxide solutions. Nevertheless, hydrogen peroxide solutions with improved cleaning and disinfecting activity would be highly desirable. The present invention is therefore directed to improving the efficacy of hydrogen peroxide based solutions.